TECHNOLOGY
Automation
Jerome Smail, freelance journalist, presents comments and insight of industry luminaries on aspects of this key issue facing the profession
P ayroll is a complex job requiring up-to-date knowledge and hands- on skills. But let’s face it, we’re used to people outside of the profession taking it for granted. How many times have we heard stories of colleagues who thought the function amounted to ‘just pressing a button’? But with automation on the rise and predicted to play an increasing role in many areas – including payroll – in the coming years, to what extent will the world of work change, and where will it leave the profession? To find out the state of play and what the future holds, I spoke to four key players in payroll and human resources (HR): ● Jaspal Randhawa-Wayte, Chartered Member of the CIPP and director of product management, payroll solutions at Zellis ● Sharon Looney, chief human resources officer (CHRO) at CoreHR ● Richard Rowell, chief executive officer of
Dataplan, and ● Laura Hughes, head of marketing at PayDashboard.
availability and adoption of software applications over the past two decades or so has made the use of automation commonplace across all manner of industries. Of course, exactly what automation is used for varies from business to business, but in general terms its role is to perform traditionally manual yet often mission- critical tasks on behalf of the worker. For payroll professionals this can include tasks such as data collection, transfer and validation. It’s easy to see this removal of human intervention as a catalyst for the loss of jobs. In some cases this is certainly true, but most experts now believe that while automation will eliminate traditional roles, it will also create new ones – in other words, disruption not destruction. The long-term impact of this can be extremely positive, because not only does it save time and money on the completion of those mission critical tasks, but it also means that workers can transition into
...while automation will eliminate
How is automation changing the workplace at present? Jaspal Randhawa-Wayt: Automation is frequently seen as something new and exciting, but the reality is that it’s been used in one form or another since the industrial revolution. However, the growing traditional roles, it will also create new ones – in other words, disruption not destruction
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | February 2020 | Issue 57
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